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Earlier this week, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed into law a bill that some have described as “the most intense anti-queer legislation” ever to pass in America.

Reuters described it like this: “The far-reaching law allows people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples. It also clears the way for employers to cite religion in determining workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom and locker access.”

And like North Carolina’s recent anti-LGBT law, this one is total bullshit, as well.

Fortunately, a non-profit organization named Planting Peace responded by purchasing billboard space and posting one of the best religiously-themed billboards I have ever seen. Check it out:

And that’s how it’s done! (Planting Peace)

That’s right, haters! Jesus was about love and understanding, not hate and discrimination—and even an agnostic like me knows this! Time to tighten up on your theology!

Yesterday, I heard some great news regarding the pool of Republican candidates vying for the presidential nomination: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has suspended his campaign! Woohoo!

This was actually the second piece of great GOP news since the first candidate to drop off was former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. That means there are 2 down and 14 or so to go. I wonder who will be next.

Actually, I hope the next candidate to drop off—aside from the hair-challenged jackass Donald Trump—will be retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Despite being completely unqualified for the job, he also seems to be a Muslim hater. Consider his comments on Meet the Press this past Sunday, when he said that he “would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.”

So a neurosurgeon can be president, but not a homosexual or Muslim? Doesn’t sound like the land of the free to me (Mad Magazine)

Sorry, Ben, but religious freedom is one of the foundations upon which our nation was built. And I shudder to think only Christians would be permitted to lead this country. Being a “melting pot” means everyone has the chance to be president. Hell, we only elected a black president eight years ago, a fact I’m sure is significant to Carson as an African-American. If race wasn’t an issue, then why should religion be?

Of course, Carson didn’t stop there. On Monday, he clarified his position by mentioning that he would support a Muslim president, but only if that individual first denounced their religion.

“If someone has a Muslim background and they’re willing to reject those tenets and accept the way of life that we have and clearly will swear to place our constitution above their religion, then of course they’ll be considered infidels and heretic, but at least then I’d be quite willing to support them,” Carson told Sean Hannity from Fox News. “What we have to recognize is that this is America, and we have a constitution and we don’t put people at the leadership of our country whose faith will interfere with the carrying out the duties of the constitution.”

Sorry again, Ben, but the First Amendment includes freedom of religion. And as far as I know, no Christian president has ever been asked to denounce their religion. Why should this only apply to Muslims?

With any luck, this clear Muslim hatred will result in Carson being tossed from the presidential race, too. He certainly has no business in Washington and should probably focus on enjoying his retirement—in a Muslim-free community, of course!

Despite the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage recently—and finally granting marriage equality for all—there are still some hardcore detractors out there who refuse to abide by the ruling. In some cases, clerks and judges are even refusing to issue marriage licenses or to marry same-sex couples.

Judge James R. DePiazza of Texas isn’t one of them, but he is doing something rather unprecedented.

DePiazza has decided to allow same-sex couples to marry, but first asks them to sign an agreement acknowledging his own views on the matter. Here’s a brief excerpt:

“Judge DePiazza prefers to NOT conduct same-sex ceremonies, but will not decline anyone who chooses to schedule with him.”

Additionally, the agreement asks that couples not mention same-sex weddings to him “before, during or after the ceremony.” If they do, then the service will cease and the couple will receive a refund.

And pictures of the ceremony can only be taken once DePiazza leaves the courtroom.

I’m sorry, but this is indicative of the hypocrisy that exists in politics, religion and almost every aspect of American society. DePiazza wants people to acknowledge his views? How about acknowledging theirs?

Oh wait. I forgot that homosexuals are inferior to the rest of us. Only heterosexuals were truly created in God’s image. Curse everyone else.

Anyone who has read my blog likely knows that I am not a religious person. In fact, I’m quickly becoming anti-religious based on how judgemental, hypocritical and downright mean some religious people can be.

I am also baffled by some of the stupid things I hear religious people say—even those viewed as religious leaders, like right-wing televangelist Pat Robertson, for instance.

Recently, a woman wrote in to The 700 Club, Robertson’s cable television program, and asked for help in comforting a friend who just lost a young child. Here’s how Robertson chose to respond:

“As far as God’s concerned, He knows the end from the beginning and He sees a little baby and that little baby could grow up to be Adolf Hitler,” Robertson said. “He could grow up to be Joseph Stalin, he could grow up to be some serial killer, or he could grow up to die of a hideous disease.”

In other words, God killed this child to prevent him from turning into some evil monster or dying from some terrible affliction.

Of course, this doesn’t explain why so many still live and suffer from horrible diseases. Or why maniacs like Sadaam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden were permitted to live while so many innocent people died at their hands.

I know Pat Robertson is older and his mind is likely slipping, but he should still know better. And this guy has his own television show, for goodness sake!

Republican presidential candidate and devout Catholic Rick Santorum recently expressed his love for Pope Francis, but said he wished the religious leader would stop talking about climate change.

In Santorum’s opinion—and despite the fact that Pope Francis has a master’s degree in chemistry—the pontiff should “leave science to the scientists.” He thinks the church should stay out of science, in other words.

This is great news to me since I believe the church should stay out of politics, too—something I’m certain Santorum would reject since it would require him to climb down off his moral high horse.

Santorum wants Pope Francis to stop talking about climate change? I have a better idea: Santorum should just stop talking. Period.

Within hours of posting an article entitled Headless—about a New York City man who decapitated himself in broad daylight in the Bronx recently—members of the Islamic State known as ISIS beheaded yet another American journalist: Steven Sotloff.

Sotloff was kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in 2013 while reporting on the war in Syria. And sadly, he worked only as a freelance reporter for several publications; this was not his full-time job.

A three-minute video just released by ISIS shows Sotloff moments before his head is removed from his body, which is shown in graphic detail. Fortunately, the video has been removed from major websites and should be nowhere to be found online. One can only hope this is true for the sake of his family and friends.

Sadly, this horrible video comes mere weeks after a video showing American journalist James Foley’s beheading surfaced. And as you might imagine, they both fueled international outrage… and understandably so. What a terrible way to die.

I’m not sure what ISIS hopes to gain from executing innocent people—especially journalists who are simply reporting the news and pose no real threat—but I’m also certain this won’t be the last disturbing video we receive from these extremists. My hope is that they realize just how counterproductive such measures are and find a new, constructive and non-violent way to address their issues.

In other words, I don’t think Allah or any other deity would appreciate the slaughter of innocent people, even if it is performed in blind obedience to a religion some followers obviously don’t understand.

If there are any astronomy buffs in the crowd, then I’m sure you are all preparing for tonight’s lunar festivities—especially if you live in the Americas and don’t mind staying up until the wee hours of the morning.

Starting at around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, the first of four total lunar eclipses slated for 2014-2015 will begin, resulting in what is known as a Hunter’s Moon or—more commonly—a blood moon. The moon takes on this sanguine hue as it passes through Earth’s shadow, which has been described as being the color of a desert sunset.

In other words, it’s incredibly beautiful, provided you can stay up until 3 a.m. or so. That’s when the moon should be bloody as hell, but sadly, this effect will start to fade roughly an hour later.

The good news is that if you miss tonight’s blood moon, you will get three more chances to see it during what is known as a tetrad—a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses scheduled for April 15th and October 8th of 2014, as well as April 4th and September 28th of 2015. And believe me when I say that tetrads like these are incredibly rare. Some NASA experts equate them to drawing a four-of-a-kind in poker, which any poker player can tell you happens only once in a blue moon… or a red one, for that matter.

Of course, celestial events like blood moons can also lead to Biblical hysteria and prophecy-making… and this event is no exception considering the Book of Revelations 6:12-14 mentions the Hunter’s Moon specifically: “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.”

Enter the Blood Moon Prophecy, an idea popularized by John Hagee and Mark Blitz, two Christian pastors. Blitz actually came up with this idea in 2008 and has been preaching that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur in 2015—this tetrad, in other words, signals the beginning of the end for humanity. Hagee brought Blitz’s ideas back into the spotlight when he published Four Blood Moons in 2013, only he viewed the tetrad as evidence of some major historical change to come—especially for Israel since tetrads always seem to coincide with important events in Jewish history.

Personally, I see tonight’s blood moon as nothing more than an interesting lunar event worth checking out if you’re awake when it happens. Since I consider myself to be an open-minded person, though, I suppose it’s at least possible it could mean something more—especially if Jesus appears once the tetrad ends on September 29, 2015!

At that point, I would probably be willing to reconsider my religious affiliation… or lack thereof…